Is There Room for Pure Vocal Groups in K-pop?

It’s safe to say that K-pop is about 75% visual. In an industry that relies heavily on appearances, it’s no surprise that newer, younger models continue to crop up. It’s also unsurprising that most of those groups aren’t exactly selling vocal excellence.

Then SoReal debuted. The pretty boy quartet dropped a teaser of their mini-album, So Real Story. It was very reminiscent of some of the vocal groups of old in K-pop. While it and their subsequent debut single and music video, titled “My Heart Says,” are filled mostly with the same pop fare that most groups display, Star Empire’s rookie group sports some surprisingly competent and powerful harmonization, the likes of which hasn’t been really seen in groups as of late.

This concept of a group in which each member has a strong voice and is therefore tackling more technically complex material isn’t exactly an alien concept in K-pop. In fact, looking back at K-pop’s first and second generations, it’s easy to see a slew of groups found at least midlevel success with this concept.

Big Mama was a group apart, debuting females that didn’t fit an industry standard of beauty — they were thicker, varied in age, had normal faces, and weren’t concerned with attempting the aegyo or sexy concepts their more popular peers found great commercial success with. Each member had a voice that could put many Western R&B and Soul singers to shame, and that translated into having tight harmonies and releasing decidedly more mature music.

As a part of YG’s sister label M Boat, the group enjoyed a decent amount of success. Their debut album, 2003’s Like The Bible, sold over 100,000 copies, and their sophomore effort, 2005’s It’s Unique,enjoyed even greater critical success. That same year they were invited to perform with Boyz II Men. The concert, titled “The Real Harmony: Big Mama & Boyz II Men Joint Concert,” was a huge enterprise, YG spending one billion won (about $950,000 USD) on a professional stage crew from Japan.

However, inevitability set in, and the women of Big Mama slimmed down to fit more “traditional” industry standards. The group eventually left YG in 2007 because of lack of promotion and released album Blossom under label Manwalldang. The album enjoyed decent success, selling 60,000 copies. But after eight years the group officially disbanded.

The Piggy Dolls also enjoyed some success. Taking a page from Big Mama’s book, the ladies debuted as rebuttal to an industry more partial to girl groups featuring slim members with varying levels of vocal skill. They were all thick, voluptuous women with unbelievably strong voices. Their “gimmick,” such that it was, was more overt than their predecessors in Big Mama, at times tending to outshine the actual talent of each singer.

In the end, however, the name of the game is profit, and much like Big Mama before them, the girls slimmed down, Winning InSight Entertainment preferring to scrap their original concept in lieu of gaining more tangible popularity. When the Piggy Dolls made their second comeback after a six-month absence, fans were treated to an entirely new lineup of young ladies who better prescribed to the standard of Korean beauty.

However, the vocals were typical K-pop fare. While there’s nothing wrong with that in the grander scope of K-pop, it belies what the original lineup represented—standing essentially on vocals without the “looks” to fall back on. And the results are clear: going by YouTube views alone, the original Piggy Dolls received, at best, just over 1200 views for their official MV for single “Trend;” the new lineup garnered over 66,000 views for their single “Ordinary Girl” and over 110,000 views for their video for “Butterflies.”

Brown Eyed Girls is a rarity in K-pop, a self-composed group that managed to be successful on the merits of their voices. Leader Jea hand-picked Miryo, a known presence in the hip-hop community, and Narsha, someone she remembered from high school. The three of them selected Ga-in after the magnae was found crying in a restroom after being eliminated from Battle Shinhwa.

Initially they were another group based purely on vocal strength, releasing more R&B-heavy tracks and remaining faceless for much of the early part of their career. They enjoyed a great deal of critical success but didn’t quite reach the commercial recognition they coveted. However, a recurring trend with at least the female vocal groups prevailed: the group had changed their concept and packaging, cashing in on their looks and feminine sensuality.

With their third album Sound G,they released track “Abracadabra,” a completely different style and concept to their previous R&B and ballad inclinations. Gone were the days of the “faceless” vocalists. This music video highlighted their aesthetic appeal and introduced the sensual “hip dance” that has become a K-pop choreography mainstay.

When it comes to the guys, it’s much of the same. Groups like Brown Eyed Soul, while maintaining a steady following, will never truly garner the success of their idol peers. History has shown that strictly R&B and Soul concepts in South Korea aren’t exactly selling points, especially if there isn’t a blatantly visual aspect to the group’s makeup.

Group 2AM, while enjoying some of the fruits of that coveted mainstream popularity, still stands somewhat in the shadow of their dance/pop brothers 2PM. Initially part of an eleven-member unit known as One Day, the group was split in two—one unit to handle the more pop-heavy side, while the other would belt out the ballads. 2AM’s vocals take center stage, which leaves their visibility more subtle. Again, the vocal subunit is blessed with a loyal following, but much of that popularity is thanks to the individual members’ activities, most notably Jo Kwon, whose flamboyant persona has arguably had the biggest hand in boosting the group’s visibility.

Still, 2AM wasn’t above or without the need to flash a little flesh to get some due recognition. Men are just as susceptible to the whims of an industry whose priority is visual appeal above all else. As a part of a genre that’s heavily saturated with pretty boys with godlike bodies, having vocal talent falls to the background as a consequence of an accepted and renowned rule of thumb in the entertainment industry: sex sells. Even the most gorgeous voices have to get a little sexy to make their presence viable.

It almost makes one wonder exactly how DBSK actually succeeded on the scale that they did. What Lee Soo-man managed to create with these five lads was truly a once in a lifetime phenomenon. The first member of the then nebulous quintet was Junsu, a kid with an incredibly unique voice, but whom they apparently didn’t know what to do with until his voice cracked (he became a trainee with SM at the age of eleven). Yunho and Jaejoong were part of their own experimental group at SM with Super Junior’s Heechul and Kangin called Four Seasons. The company struck gold once again with the arrival of a young kid with an unreal vocal range (Changmin), and then again with a kid with a smokier voice and piano skills coming off a stint in the US (Yoochun). Somehow, someone at SM had the brilliant idea to put these five young chaps in the same group.

This was truly the luckiest of the draws. SM set out to create the second coming of H.O.T; what they got was one of the most impressive (and undeniably most successful) vocal groups in K-pop history. Most of their concepts were relatively tame, even at times questionably goofy. And while the concept of their Korean comeback in 2008 was blatantly sexy—arguably the most successful K-pop album of all time, Mirotic—they’d been in the industry for five years and had more than established the focus of their group concept as good music and big vocals. Though DBSK didn’t begin with the goal of being a full-out vocal group, after their first album it was clear their a cappella performances and impeccably razor-sharp harmonization would separate them from the K-pop groups at that time.

With DBSK’s unconscionable success, SM sought to create the female equivalent, no doubt hoping to cash in on the innate feminine charms of the group while still maintaining their vocal integrity. CSJHThe Grace had their own brush with success, their debut (and only Korean release) One More Time, Okay? topped both the M! Countdown and Inkigayo charts and reached as high as number six the month of its release.

Unfortunately, despite all the best intentions, The Grace never took off with any success on the scale of their male counterparts. There could be a slew of reasons why the group just didn’t take. But in the end, SM put more of their power behind super-group SNSD. They’re a large group of beautiful females, attitude and sass overload. While they were never intended to be a vocal group, their overall concept and style overshadow the vocal talent of a few of their members, those with the stronger voices showcasing them in solo stages and side projects. Inevitably, The Grace sort of whimpered out of relevance, even with the debut of the Dana and Sunday subunit after a four-year silence.

With groups like SuPearls—another YG construct that included a visually diverse cast of vocalists, including a noticeably absent Lee Hi and former YG recruit and recent debut artist Lee Michelle—coming and going with mostly zero fanfare or promotion, it’s not hard to discern the actuality of K-pop’s scope: vocals aren’t the focus, more visual impact and instant gratification.

However, as with every rule, there are those exceptions. Spica, an all-girl outfit under B2M Entertainment that’s made a splash with their mature vocals and very distinct visual style, has managed to find that balance between aesthetic appeal and explosive vocal talent among each member. Just like DBSK before them, they haven’t had to sacrifice one aspect of their appeal for another. Along with their vocal ability, they’ve also managed to step outside of the box concept-wise, everything from lovable hippies in their video for “Tonight,” to their tribute to the Andrew Sisters in their latest MV for “You Don’t Love Me.” The obvious beauty of their members may in fact be the reason why they’ve been afforded this fluidity in group identity.

The message is strikingly clear. In order for the female groups to at least enjoy a fraction of the success of most groups in the industry, they have to slim down and sexy up, pushing their vocal focus aside to appeal to the prevailing aesthetic, and the guy groups can’t rely on their voices alone to propel them into any sort of incredible notoriety, seemingly fading into the background with every other group or being content with underground success.

It’s hard to fault the industry for something that’s proven lucrative since the beginning of pop music. As long as teenagers inhabit the earth, there will be pretty boys and girls to entice them and record companies to cash in on the raging hormones. But for the grown folks, there’s a little bit more at stake, a little more that we need to take away from anything we listen to. The vocal groups that have come and gone have proven that not every group will rely on its superficial charm to garner attention. Perhaps the presence of Spica and now SoReal signals a “return to center,” a chance for K-pop to go back to a time when the music was just as important as the image.

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I'm a left-handed Libra who enjoys Looney Tunes, the Powerpuff Girls, and anime! I grew up on Motown, Led Zeppelin, Hip-Hop, and Bjork, but one day a friend of mine asked me, "Hey, you wanna hear this group?" "This group" turned out to be DBSK. Two weeks later I found myself on a constant downward spiral into the fiery depths of K-pop and haven't looked back since. But given my interests, I'd say K-pop slotted right in--right between Bjork and the Powerpuff Girls!

I like vocal groups. DBSK was concept was a “acapella dance group.” In the end they sang more ballads in Japanese than in korean. I wonder if it is to make them more distinct than their competitors – from Johnny Entertainment.
I think vocal groups had a stronger presence in kdrama ost than mainstream idol market.
I definitely think that the kpop mainstream market is more for dance music than ballads.

Camiele

Which makes me so sad. I mean, with groups like Spica and SoReal and also Urban Zakapa (can’t believe I forgot to add them), I would just hope that there’d be room for them. But, you may be right in the end. K-pop may just be for dance groups… *siiigh*

BishieAddict

As much as I love ballads, it is the catchy dance songs that get stuck in my head.
Even the performances look more interesting and are more entertaining. Ballad groups stand stoic… whereas the dance groups are flashy and have more fun.
Spica and BEG – are vocally talented but their latest releases are catchy. Maybe that’s what is needed.

Camiele

Well, I think as with DBSK, “vocal” doesn’t mean “ballad.” After all, Insooni is a Soul singer and she’s been successful for thirty years. But, then again, she’s also a soloist. I think that more Soul and R&B focused songs, as far as the groups go, aren’t really successful in the Korean pop scene, and at least as far as K-pop goes, in order to show vocal strength, it’s necessary to either sing Soul and R&B or, like you said, go for ballads. But, like I said, K-pop is mostly visual. I think you’re right, people are more interested in seeing the dance routines than they are hearing voices.

Makes me sad :( HaHa.

BishieAddict

It is a shame how there isn’t that much diversity in the current kpop market. But I think RnB was popular just right before DBSK popularity/idol groups exploded into the kpop scene. I remember DBSK losing the Golden Disk award to SGWannabe. Lol.
I was into korean RnB for a while. I liked TYKEYS and 8eight and some other groups (whose name that I can’t remember

Huh I’m like the opposite, dance tracks usually don’t stick with me in the long-term but more mid-tempo and slower ballads I tend to like more the more I listen to it. Ofc there are exceptions but that’s what I usually find happens. Spica are good but I honestly don’t really like most of their songs, it feels like a bit of a waste to use their voices in generic dance tracks and why oh why would you put a rap when you have a voice like that smh. I hope Hyori gives them a more rnb feel for their next comeback where they can really show off their vocals.

yi2345

I agree that SPICA doesn’t need rap breaks in their songs indeed. Anyway, I would really like to recommend their B-sides to those who’ve not heard of anything outside of their title tracks: Diary, Potently, Anger, With You, Since You’re Out of My Life, That Night. I think these songs reflect SPICA’s color better than most of their titles do. And yes hopefully they’ll have a very successful comeback next time ;)

HJK

how about Davichi? and dont forget SGWannabe

Camiele

Ooo! I’m ashamed to say I don’t know them! What other vocal groups are out there? And have they had some of the success of, say, Big Mama or maybe even Brown Eyed Soul?

Bulkkochie

Davichi are pretty good, they top the charts in Korea with pretty much every song they release and they’re about as popular as you can get as a non-dancing pure ballad singing duo lol. Here’s one of my fav performances by them , （with a bit of rapping :P)

HJK

Davichi is digital chart killer in korea. Almost all of their songs rank very high. SGWannabe was very famous during 04-09, their members are doing military services now, i m waiting for their comeback. You can check one of their famous songs here:

It was DBSK vs SGWannabe during 04-09 for Golden Disk’s Deasang

mxisluv

Davichi members are very attractive by Asian standards. Just like IU, they are vocals and visuals at the same time.

SECRETTIME

4Men, y’all. Can’t believe no one mentioned them.

Tanya Joshi

I think that in the purely general sense, vocal groups can belong in K-pop. But I think it when it comes to idol-pop as I like to call it, it’s harder for them to fit in. Idols usually, what I think at least, are supposed to encompass all forms of entertainment and performance and is an extremely niche market. Purely vocal groups, I feel, would it wouldn’t be the same definition. I don’t know, that’s just how I feel. I think they straddle in between idol-pop and the type of mainstream type of music that Nell would belong to.

Juliana

Funny, because of piggy dolls I discovered seoulbeats. These three girls have awesome voices, but they didn’t reach success. In my opinion not only because kpop fans caremore about look, but also bad management and terrible songs, I listened their cd and I thought it was a waste of their awesome voices in such mediocre songs. I like Spica a lot, but they need to improve their team, I can’t see BoA as a good leader, she really seems self-centered, even in X-unnie they didn’t act as a team, I got the feeling they act as coworker, I don’t know, I can’t see a unity in Spica.

mxisluv

MR.MR. belongs to this category too. If they had the backing of the larger companies their high quality material would have put them higher in the charts.

And yup, DBSK was such a stroke of luck for SM to find a group that had everything going for them. Talent, looks, appeal, etc.

Deliane

Does Noel count as Kpop? They are a pop vocal group, and they also perform on those weekly music shows sometimes.

Definitely second mentions of Davichi and 4Men! Its such a shame that CSJH didn’t take off with the Kpop community when they had such beautiful harmonies and live perfs. I remember SM attempted to promote them in Japan but either they didn’t try hard enough or the concept just didn’t take off. Even getting Kyuhyun and Jaejoong to feature didn’t work. :(

DBSK the triple (or is it quadruple) threat! The only thing lacking would be that none of them are rappers, but that’s more of a recent trend with Yoochun and Yunho (and randomly Jaejoong) filling the gaps. Not sure about post 2010 DBSK rapping.

I wish Kpop would get rid of “rappers” in a group, the majority or Idol “rappers” are horrible…

Camiele

I just prescribe to the belief that if you don’t know the history of hip-hop and if you haven’t battled at least a little bit, you just shouldn’t do it.

And this goes for ALL these worthless “rappers” in the US (Soulja Boy comes to mind). They’re really no different than idol group rappers, but without any other talents… Haha.

Angélina Eang

“CSJH The Grace had their own brush with success, their debut (and only Korean release) One More Time, Okay?”

I am sorry but did you do any researches about them ? One more time, Ok ? wasn’t their debut song nor their only Korean release –‘ They debuted with Too Good in 2005 and between 2005 and 2007 (the year of the release of One More Time, Ok), they had a lot of singles like My Everything or The Club.

Gosh’, I didn’t say anything when other users pointed out that sometimes, in seoulbeats, there are some outrageous mistakes but right here, it’s just unbelievable.

Gaya_SB

Camiele is referring to albums as “releases” rather than singles — One More Time, OK? was and remains CSJH’s sole Korean studio album. Both albums and singles can be referred to as “releases,” which I guess can cause a bit of confusion sometimes.

Camiele

I should probably amend my understanding of certain things when it comes to K-pop. I obviously thought it was understood that “releases” meant albums, and singles were just… songs from the albums… HaHa. Apparently K-pop is a special case ^^

Gaya_SB

I think it’s because there is often only one promoted track per release, as well as the fact that often the release is just a single. It’s confusing.

Camiele

Yup, Gaya beat me to it. I was referring to full-length studio albums, not singles. And One More Time, OK? was it for The Grace. I’ve always thought of “releases” as full-length albums. Singles are just what come from the actual albums… perhaps I need to apply a different mindset when it comes to K-pop?

Trust me, I’ve listened to their entire discography, and it pained me to know that they didn’t have more full-length work in Korea. They released two Japanese albums, but apparently didn’t have the backing for Korean releases? I don’t know, but it’s a shame.

Maybe it’s as BishieAddict said above, as with DBSK the ballads and power vocals went over better in Japan. Wish SM would’ve spent more time on The Grace, but… it wasn’t to be :(

Laverne_SB

If there was room for pure vocal groups then maybe History wouldn’t have had to change their image. I will forever cry about them not following in the footsteps of “Dreamer” !!!!! Wahhhhhh :(

Camiele

I’m glad people are continuing to mention groups that fit the vocal group mold. There are so many groups that I didn’t add, and I’m so sad about it. Mr.Mr. is a GRAND example! And is another example of a group that just isn’t getting the recognition they deserve. And with their leader leaving amidst some controversy… *siiigh*

I think SM did try with SHINee; however, Taemin had to grow into his vocals, Jonghyun needed to get control of his, and that leaves Onew as the only other raw vocalists. Plus, I think even from “Replay” the focus was more on dance. They had great tracks and lovely harmonies, but there were only two real vocalists and a third potential in Taemin (whom I’m SO damn proud of! His vocals in Everybody…? AMAZING!) DBSK is unique in that each member has strong vocals, thus making their harmonization fuller. But since K-pop may depend more on dance than vocal, SHINee have the potential of reaching their sunbae’s status… maybe. But somehow, and I’m thinking it’s 50% hype and the rest is their ability to back it up and sorcery, DBSK hit legendary status almost as soon as they dropped their debut. And with POWERFUL songs that showcased their vocals from the get-go… which I haven’t heard from the groups that have followed them… not really. I mean, I consider “Symptoms” SHINee’s “Tonight…” and it took them 4 full-lengths and 4 EPs to get there, while “Tonight” was on DBSK’s sophomore album!

Sorry, that was a lot longer than necessary… HaHa. All that to say thank you all for bringing more vocal groups to my attention!!!

Berbacat

Mmm ok I’d like to add my 2 cents as well. Perhaps popularity for vocal groups could “come through the side door” via variety shows such as Immortal Songs 2. Groups such as 4Men and SGWannabe got some attention there, while groups such as Rose Motel, Sweet Sorrow (where I have thoroughly enjoyed both their singles recently) and V. O. X could get screen time and popularity they deserve.

Relating to the point of the article, however, mainstream Kpop is basically what sells, whether physically or digitally. Without visuals and a catchy chorus/hook, sometimes it’s pretty hard to tell to tell the difference between vocal groups that don’t dance. I speak on behalf of the casual viewer that I attempt to introduce Kpop to, and we generally watch Countdown charts and Immortal Songs, so this is more of their feedback rather than mine.

ArielLM13

Honestly it’s like this, vocal groups(strictly vocal) can become popular but nine times out of ten, they will never acquire the same amount of reach as idols have and will continue to have in the future.

TVXQ is a great group with great vocals but they aren’t a strictly vocal group. The same goes for BEG and Spica, great groups with great vocals but they aren’t strictly vocal groups. TVXQ has great voices but I don’t have a doubt in my mind that if they were of average looks and didn’t dance, they wouldn’t have achieved the same level of success. BEG didn’t achieve commercial success until abracadabra which is not really a song that show cases their vocals. They also all got plastic surgery because truthfully, people paid more attention when they got more commercially attractive. It wasn’t until after all of this happened that they were appearing on variety shows and dramas. Spica has not received commercial success yet in Korea.

Big mama, 4men, Brown eyed soul, Brown eyes, Noel, these are groups that are strictly vocal. For these groups their vocals are their only selling point and for a lot of people that isn’t enough. Idols have the fallback of “oh I can’t do this but I can do that” and these guys don’t. Some idols aren’t really the best singers but they can dance or they look like a model or they’re are hilarious and that makes people become their fans. Without 4men’s vocal talent what other reason do I have to keep interest in them?

HJK

we forget SeeYa, dont we? while they dont active anymore, they were very popular back then.

Stefnick

“the “looks” to fall back on. And the results are clear: going by YouTube views alone, the original Piggy Dolls received, at best, just over 1200 views for their official MV for single “Trend;” the new lineup garnered over 66,000 views for their single “Ordinary Girl” and over 110,000 views for their video for “Butterflies.””

I feel this section is really misleading. Since the songs “Ordinary Girl” and “Butterflies” were both uploads on LOEN YouTube channel, who has way more subscribers, then compared it to “Trends” official video upload on a way lesser known channel and uploaded a year after it was first release. In my experience, it was kind of difficult finding videos of their performance and a lot these official videos were upload during I time I would assum most excitement about them would have died down. Beside it doesn’t seem like Piggy Dolls replacement fare any better other than YouTube view, as I haven’t heard much from them since. Also does the fact that one debut in 2011 and the other 2013 makes a difference any? I don’t know

Though I don’t know whether or not Piggy Dolls were more successful with the original members in the original sizes, the results based off YouTube count are far from ‘clear’.

yellowfour

Spica definitely got all the elements to be big: talent, looks, and even variety skills. Heck even being backed by the great Queen of K-Pop Lee Hyori herself, who produced some of their songs and gave a lot of personal attention to this group, including a reality show series. So even if all the elements are there, sometimes things just don’t work out as you expect.

viki32

agreed, they have vocals, they have looks, and attitudes, but still. I think some of their interviews hinted that it may be because the listeners were afraid of them when they first debuted, with such a strong concept like doggedly and then russian roulette and painkiller. they’re trying to tone it down a bit with songs like lonely, i’ll be there I think. tonight and you don’t love me are very different, but still I like them since they showcase not only their vocal abilities, but also their character — that they have particular kind of attitude, especially with Juhyun, Boa and Narae kind of “I don’t give a f*ck” way of portraying themselves.

some mentioned about the sense of unity, I guess that may influence too. but since they gathered after certain period of time they’re in the industry (being trainee and all), it’s different compared to groups like say SNSD.

Miss Arcadian

Honestly, the saddest thing about DBSK’s break-up is losing that 5-voice harmony.